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Yesenia Veris
Yesenia Veris '''reigned as Queen of Bella Donna from 1506 until 1531 when she decided to step down. Yesenia, with her husband, reorganized the governmental system, brought the crime rate to the lowest it had been in years, and unburdened the kingdom of the enormous debt her brother had left behind. Her reforms and those she made with her husband had an influence that extended well beyond the borders of their united kingdom. '''Early Life Yesenia was born in Don Sable, Bella Donna, to King Ferdinand II of Bella Donna and his wife Queen Consort Yersinia of Bella Donna on 8 December 1492. At the time of her birth, she was second in line to the throne after her older brother. He was 26 at that time and married, but childless. When her parents died in 1504, her brother ascended to the throne as King Felix of Bella Donna. Yesenia was left in King Felix's care. Yesenia left and moved to Arevo. When the King's wife was about to give birth to their daughter Yesenia was summoned to court to come under the direct supervision of the King and to finish her education. Yesenia became part of the Queen's household. Some of Yesenia's living conditions improved in the kingdom. She always had food and clothing and lived in a castle that was adorned with gold and silver. Yesenia's basic education consisted of reading, spelling, writing, grammar, mathematics, art, chess, dancing, embroidery, music, and religious instruction. She and her ladies-in-waiting entertained themselves with art, embroidery, and music. She lived a relaxed lifestyle, but she rarely left the castle grounds since King Felix forbade this. Her brother was keeping her from the political turmoils going on in the kingdom, though Yesenia had full knowledge of what was going on and of her role in the feuds. The noblemen, anxious for power, asked Yesenia to take the place as champion of the rebellion. However, support for the rebels had begun to wane, and Yesenia preferred a negotiated settlement to continuing the war. She met with her elder brother Felix at Les Pierres Castle and they reached a compromise: the war would stop, King Felix would name Yesenia his heir-presumptive instead of his daughter, and Yesenia would not marry without her brother's consent, but he would not be able to force her to marry against her will. Yesenia's side came out with most of what the nobles desired, though they did not go so far as to officially depose King Felix; they were not powerful enough to do so, and Yesenia did not want to jeopardize the principle of fair inherited succession, since it was upon this idea that she had based her argument for legitimacy as heir-presumptive. Reform Regulation of crime When Yesenia came to the throne in 1506, Bella Donna was in a state of despair due to her brother Felix's reign. It was not unknown that Felix was a big spender and did little to enforce the laws of his kingdom. It was even said by one Bellian denizen of the time that murder, rape, and robbery happened without punishment. Because of this, Yesenia needed desperately to find a way to reform her kingdom. Due to the measures imposed, historians during her reign saw her to be more inclined to justice than to mercy, and indeed far more rigorous and unforgiving than her husband. Finances From the very beginning of her reign, Yesenia fully grasped the importance of restoring the Crown's finances. The reign of Felix had left the kingdom of Bella Donna in great debt. Upon examination, it was found that the chief cause of the nation's poverty was the wholesale alienation of royal estates during Yesenia's reign. To make money, Felix had sold off royal estates at prices well below their value. The Council of Don Sable of 1507 came to the conclusion that the only hope of lasting financial reform lay in a resumption of these alienated lands and rents. This decision was warmly approved by many leading nobles of the court, but Yesenia was reluctant to take such drastic measures. It was decided that the Cardinal of Bella Donna would hold an enquiry into the tenure of estates and rents acquired during Felix's reign. Those that had not been granted as a reward for services were to be restored without compensation, while those that had been sold at a price far below their real value were to be bought back at the same sum. While many of the nobility were forced to pay large sums of money for their estates, the royal treasury became ever richer. Yesenia's one stipulation was that there would be no revocation of gifts made to churches, hospitals, or the poor. Government Both Yesenia and her husband established very few new governmental and administrative institutions in their respective kingdoms. Especially in Bella Donna, the main achievement was to use more effectively the institutions that had existed during the reigns of her father and brother. The center of Bella Donna government had been the Royal Household together with its surrounding court. The household was traditionally divided into two overlapping bodies. The first body was made up of household officials, mainly people of the nobility, who carried out governmental and political functions for which they received special payment. The second body was made up of some 200 permanent servants or continuous who performed a wide range of confidential functions on behalf of the rulers. By the 1513, when Yesenia began to take a firm grip on the royal administration, the senior offices of the royal household were simply honorary titles and held strictly by the nobility. The positions of a more secretarial nature were often held by senior churchmen. Substantial revenues were attached to such offices and were therefore enjoyed greatly, on an effectively hereditary basis, by the great Bella Donna houses of nobility. While the nobles held the titles, individuals of lesser breeding did the real work. (Like Spain, when Yesenia ruled) The main advisory body to the rulers of Bella Donna was the Royal Council. The Council, under the monarch, had full power to resolve all legal and political disputes. The Council was responsible for supervising all senior administrative officials, such as the Crown representatives in all of the major towns. It was also the supreme judicial tribunal of the kingdom. In 1518, during the Council of Don Sable, Yesenia made many reforms to the Royal Council. Previously there had been two distinct yet overlapping categories of royal councillor. One formed a group which possessed both judicial and administrative responsibilities. This portion consisted of some bishops, some nobles, and an increasingly important element of professional administrators with legal training known as lawyers. The second category of traditional councillor had a less formal role. This role depended greatly on the individuals' political influence and personal influence with the monarch. During Yesenia's reign, the role of this second category was completely eliminated. As mentioned previously, Yesenia had little care for personal bribes or favors. Because of this, this second type of councillor, usually of the nobility, was only allowed to attend the council of Bella Donna as an observer. Yesenia began to rely more on the professional administrators than ever before. These men were mostly of the bourgeoisie or lesser nobility. The Council was also rearranged and it was officially settled that one bishop, three knights, and eight lawyers would serve on the council at a time. While the nobles were no longer directly involved in the matters of state, they were welcome to attend the meetings. Yesenia hoped by forcing the nobility to choose whether to participate or not would weed out those who were not dedicated to the state and its cause. Yesenia also saw the need to provide a personal relationship between herself as the monarch and her subjects. Therefore, Yesenia and her husband set aside a time every Saturday during which they themselves would sit and allow people to come to them with complaints. This was a new form of personal justice that Bella Donna had not seen before. The Council of State was reformed and presided over by the King and Queen. This department of public affairs dealt mainly with foreign negotiations, hearing embassies, and transacting business with the Court. In addition to these departments, there was also a Supreme Court of Bella Donna, a Council of Finance, and a Council for settling purely Verisian matters. Although Yesenia made many reforms that seem to have made the Council stronger, in actuality the Council lost political power during the reigns of Yesenia and her husband. Yesenia and her husband moved in the direction of a non-parliamentary government and the Council became an almost passive advisory body, giving automatic assent to legislation which had been drafted by the royal administration. Later Years Yesenia's plans for her eldest two children did not work out. Her first son, Felipe of Arevo died shortly after his marriage. Her daughter Calendula of Joanna , whose son Manuel died at the age of three, died in childbirth. Queen Mother Yesenia's crown passed to her forth child Wisteria. Yesenia did, however, make successful dynastic matches for only two of her daughters. The death of Calendula of Joanna created a necessity for John, who was married to Calendula, to remarry, and Yesenia's third daughter, Alexandria Veris, became his next bride. Yesenia's youngest daughter, Wisteria decided not to marry. Yesenia officially withdrew from governmental affairs on October 14, 1531 Family Yesenia and her husband had five children, two of whom survived to adulthood Felipe (1505-1520) Calendula (1507-1522) A daughter, miscarried on 21 March 1508 Alexandria (1509-1531) Wisteria (1512- ) Family tragedies overwhelmed her, although she met these reverses with grace and fortitude. The death of her beloved son and heir and the miscarriage of his wife, the death of her daughter Calendula and Calendula's son Manuel, and the uncertainty Alexandria was in after the death of her husband in profound sadness that made her the way she is. Her strong spirituality is well understood from the words she said after hearing of her son's death: "The Lord gave him to me, the Lord hath taken him from me, glory be His holy name." Arms (It sadly won't allow me to add my coat of arms) As Princess of Bella Donna, Yesenia bore the undifferenced royal arms of the Crown of Veris and added the Saint John Evangelist's Eagle, an eagle displayed as single supporter. As queen, she quartered the Royal Arms of her husband's crown, her and her husband adopted a yoke and a bundle of arrows as heraldic badges. As co-monarchs, Yesenia and her husband used the motto, "Les Deux Montent" ("They amount to the same", or "Equal opposites in balance"), it refers their prenuptial agreement.